"Need a little lovin' from the oven? Sweet Tooth has got you covered!"
Seventeen-year-old Courtney Knibbs from Stoughton Central School was selected as the second place winner of the 2011 Community Futures YouthBiz competition. With her business idea entitled "Sweet Tooth," how could the judges resist?
Knibbs winning entry is based on a business that offers "quality baking with unique designs and flavour for any occasion." The business plan outlines the products which includes cakes, cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts and pies. But don't worry. Knibbs didn't forget to offer something to wash all of those tasty treats down with. Sweet Tooth also offers a selection of teas.
The competition, offered by Community Futures Sunrise, was something that Knibbs heard about during one of the classes that she is taking online with a teacher from Weyburn, Margot Arnold.
"Mrs. Arnold actually made the contest a part of our final project for the class," said Knibbs. "I'm really glad she did. Although it was a lot of work, I enjoyed creating my own business."
"The project was one that was assigned and the entire online Entrepreneurship 30 class had to complete," said Arnold. "This project is an exciting business competition designed to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in high school youth. There were four mandatory components: marketing materials consisting of creating a business card and poster with logo for their business, a voice commercial advertisement (30 seconds) where the students had to create an ad for their business and record it, and lastly the component that was worth the most marks were the business plan questions. These questions required research and were answered in paragraph form with headings. There was a bonus section where students could submit other items for their project.
As for where the idea for the business concept came from? "I came up the idea for Sweet Tooth while watching a cake making competition on T.V.," said Knibbs. "I've always enjoyed baking. I wish I could create the uniquely designed baking that you see in magazines. If I were ever to create a business, it would be a bakery."
"It took hours of work to create my business plan. I spent quite a bit of my class time working on it, as well as any free time I had. There was a ton of things about creating a bakery that I did not know, requiring a lot of research. Most of the information I needed I looked up online."
The 2011 YouthBiz competition winners were selected from a total of 170 entries from students throughout southeast Saskatchewan. The competition focused on the development of a solid business idea and plan and is aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship throughout the region.
The initiative announced its winners on Dec. 9 with $2,100 given out in prize money. As a result, Knibbs received $300 in prize money for her entrepreneurial plan."I was very excited after I had heard that I had won," said Knibbs. And I am glad my hard work paid off."
"I was thrilled that one of my online students had captured second place," said Arnold. "Courtney's submission demonstrated her hard work and creativity along with bonus items. In my opinion, the online students have to be more independent in their creations as I am not there on a daily basis to make suggestions or give advice even though I can be reached by phone, text, or email."
But Knibbs wasn't only one who was congratulated for her efforts. Additional winners in the grade 10 to 12 category included first place winner Tyler Kerr from Weyburn who received $500 for his efforts and third place winner Lyndon Lumb from Weyburn who took home $150.
In the grade six to nine category, first place and $500 in prize money was awarded to Paige Kuntz of Macoun, followed by second place winners Morgan Sidloski and Tylan Charlton of Weyburn with $300 in prize money and third place winner Malea Andrist of Macoun who was awarded $150.
Special achievement awards were also given out to students who entries were outstanding in quality. Carly Krewleski and Emily Thompson of Estevan were awarded the Product Development Award for their smoothie business, while Bailey Kozma from Carievale took home the Outstanding Slogan award with 'We feed your camping need!"
Tayler Olver and Baillie MacKenzie-Ellis from Estevan were awarded for their efforts in using Technology in Marketing with the award for Financial Details and Research going to Kane Altwasser from Yellow Grass.
"2011 marks the sixth year of this youth business competition, said Community Future Sunrise representative Verna O'Neill. "I'm always amazed at the creative ideas the students develop for the YouthBiz contest. This year we saw the integration of social media and technology based components in the students' business plans - a sign of how business is changing due to the influence of young entrepreneurs and market preferences. Ideas ranged from snowboarding shops and motorsports stores to bakeries and clothing design boutiques. The work submitted by these aspiring entrepreneurs was outstanding!"
To see Knibbs entry in its entirety, along with the others, pay a visit to the Sunrise Community Futures website and click on the YouthBiz link. There, you will be able to take a closer look at the individual submissions.
